DH and I keep a pretty low budget, but I found a way to keep it even lower--have your wallet stolen and go with out credit cards while you straighten everything out!!

bg-DH lost his wallet last week at a men's breakfast meeting. We cancelled everything, all seems well, but we have not received the new replacement cards yet and I want to make sure all is completely cleared and starting fresh. So, we are paying bills on-line, or using cash.

I used to dash off to the grocery store with $20 and come back with cash left over, but not shopping at all, and getting creative with the food in your pantry is free!!

And filling the tank with cash instead of credit limits my driving so I am planning my routes more carefully.

So, am I rich because I am saving more of my own money but not spending as much? No.

I have a friend like this who is always complaining about not having any money, but every time I turn around she and her BF are going to concerts, or she's bought a new vehicle because she got into another accident (she's wrecked more vehicles than everyone else I know put together) or bragging about her Oilers (hockey) season tickets...they also don't live right in town, it's about an hour and a half drive one-way so every time they decide to USE their season tickets (and you have to use them for almost every home game for it to be worthwhile) they also rack up the added expense of gas and usually a hotel, because by the time the game's over, they've either had too much to drink or are too tired to drove back to their town.

And she wonders why she never has any money, none of that stuff is cheap! (Nor, IMO, is any of that stuff NECESSARY) I've been to ONE concert in the past ohh...three years? Four years? It's too expensive and even though there have been plenty of bands through town that I'd love to see, I just couldn't justify the expense. And now the aforementioned friend is saying what a lucky dog I am to have been able to buy a house, and how much she wishes she and her BF could buy a place...well..umm...I can never really think of a nice way to tell her that maybe if they stopped wasting money on so many frivolous entertainments, they might be able to put a down payment away faster...I went without pretty much all but small luxuries (the movies every couple months maybe, buying one or two cheap books at the used bookstore) so I could afford to buy my home...and I did it by myself, without the benefit of a second household income. It CAN be done, with some self-control.

Whenever I read these kinds of posts, I wonder why everybody feels that they have to apologize for being able to afford certain things. I would love it if just one time, somebody would say, Oh, yes, it is nice to be rich." (Even if they're not!)

Whenever I read these kinds of posts, I wonder why everybody feels that they have to apologize for being able to afford certain things. I would love it if just one time, somebody would say, Oh, yes, it is nice to be rich." (Even if they're not!)

I am in a very expensive hobby. See the dolls down in my sig? Sitting here is over $400. And those are cheep ones. A lot of people who find out how much the dolls cost jump to the conclusion that I have money to burn. That is beyond wrong. I got them second hand and as gifts. I make their clothes and accessories. I scrimp and save to afford my obsession hobby.

I wish I were rich. Then I would be able to afford the $1,000 dolls. XD

I am in a very expensive hobby. See the dolls down in my sig? Sitting here is over $400. And those are cheep ones. A lot of people who find out how much the dolls cost jump to the conclusion that I have money to burn. That is beyond wrong. I got them second hand and as gifts. I make their clothes and accessories. I scrimp and save to afford my obsession hobby.

I wish I were rich. Then I would be able to afford the $1,000 dolls. XD

You have a very, very cool hobby. Your dolls are awesome!

I am a member of another forum that drives me nuts: it is a travel forum. I happen to like to go on fairly expensive holidays, when I go away at all. No camping or hostels. People on there seem to take exception to that. This is irritating, it isn't as if I'm making a huge deal out of my preferences, I mention them in passing, that is all. I have no idea why people think that other people's spending habits are any of their business. The money I spend is my own. I save on some things, splurge on others. I have been lucky enough to have a high paying job as a teen, which means that I have more money than some people my age. So what? That is just life.

Would you link to the 1000 dollar dolls you lust after? I'd love to see what those look like!

They are limited edition. Base price is for a blank doll. No eyes, no wig, no painting, no clothes. It is when you add in all the options that they get to $1,000. And yes, I do have friends who have some of these.

Would you link to the 1000 dollar dolls you lust after? I'd love to see what those look like!

They are limited edition. Base price is for a blank doll. No eyes, no wig, no painting, no clothes. It is when you add in all the options that they get to $1,000. And yes, I do have friends who have some of these.

Oh wow! How beautiful those are! I have some dolls myself (porcelain), but they're worth far more in sentiment than they will ever be in actual money - one of the dolls lost both her legs, and I need to make another dress for another, as I lost her first one, and she's wearing an 18" doll dress when she's only about 12" - because my grandma gave them to me as gifts.

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"It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends" - Harry Potter

It came with the box and everything. I liked it, but thought it would look better with shorter hair and different (permanent) make-up. The scream of my mother discovering what I'd done, within 1 hour of getting the doll I might add, could be heard around the Netherlands...

Every time I think of it I cringe.

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Just because someone is offended that does not mean they are in the right.

Whenever I read these kinds of posts, I wonder why everybody feels that they have to apologize for being able to afford certain things. I would love it if just one time, somebody would say, Oh, yes, it is nice to be rich." (Even if they're not!)

My mother's biggest pet peeve is when people try to make others feel guilty for their success. Whenever someone says to her, "Geez, it must be nice!" she always replies with a frosty "It is."

We're not a rich family but we like nice things and we work hard for them. Someone trying to make others feel guilty for these sorts of things is just ridiculous.

Whenever I read these kinds of posts, I wonder why everybody feels that they have to apologize for being able to afford certain things. I would love it if just one time, somebody would say, Oh, yes, it is nice to be rich." (Even if they're not!)

My mother's biggest pet peeve is when people try to make others feel guilty for their success. Whenever someone says to her, "Geez, it must be nice!" she always replies with a frosty "It is."

We're not a rich family but we like nice things and we work hard for them. Someone trying to make others feel guilty for these sorts of things is just ridiculous.

Dark Boyfriend does that some times. I say how I got to watch something while he was at work. He always says it in just that tone, "Must be nice." It started to aggravate me so much that I just started to say with a big grin, "It was, thanks!"

This happens to me all the time, i really have an average paying job...though people assume i get paid more then i do, i buy everything in the Jan sales for the following Christmas and birthdays (i have a huge family), and am able to keep my costs of living down, by little things like taking a packed lunch to work. because of this i am able to go abroad once a year, even though i pay a single person supplement and when i am there i have a fixed budget per day for the things i want to and look around for cheap places to eat. Now because of this people assume that i am rich...it's really not the case and it frustrates me when people i have an unlimited income in the bank!

Just had this happen to me yesterday. Next month, my boyfriend and I are going to a ski resort for a long weekend. My former roommate said "You're so lucky; it must be nice to be rich." Now, I have been saving up for this trip for months and haven't gone on a trip since April. Former Roommate has gone to Disneyland, Vegas and monthly trips to San Francisco in the past 3 months. Also, I work part-time and earning just above minimum wage which is a far cry from rich.

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"If you don't like something, then change it. If you can't change it, then change your attitude towards it."